* New pivotal phase III data show Menveo induced immune
responses in a high percentage of infants against four important
meningococcal disease-causing serogroups[1] * The highest rates of
meningococcal disease, a sudden, serious and often deadly disease,
occur early in the first year of life[2] * Menveo has the potential
to be the first meningococcal quadrivalent conjugate vaccine that
induces high levels of protective antibodies in infants vaccinated
from 2 months of age

Basel, October 25, 2010 - New Phase III data indicate that
Menveo® (Meningococcal Group A, C, W135 and Y conjugate
vaccine) demonstrated robust immunogenicity in infants potentially
offering protection against four major serogroups of meningococcal
disease[1],[3]. These data were presented during an oral
presentation at the 48th annual meeting of the Infectious Disease
Society of America (IDSA) held in Vancouver, Canada.

This pivotal trial, including more than 4,500 infants worldwide,
met its primary endpoints. Results show that a high percentage of
infants vaccinated with four doses achieved robust immune responses
against meningococcal serogroups A, C, W135 and Y[1]. Menveo was
generally well tolerated when given either alone or co-administered
with other pediatric vaccines[1]. Menveo has the potential to be
the first meningococcal quadrivalent conjugate vaccine that induces
high levels of protective antibodies against serogroups A, C, W135
and Y in infants vaccinated from 2 months of age. Infants under one
year of age are at greatest risk for meningococcal disease and
currently no broad-coverage vaccine is licensed for this
population[2],[3].

"In my practice I have seen the devastating effects of
meningococcal disease in infants," said Stan Block, MD, FAAP, an
investigator for the study. "Meningococcal vaccines are being
developed that can provide broad protection against the disease in
this vulnerable population[2]."

Menveo has the potential to fulfill an unmet medical need as a
vaccine that can help protect people, from early infancy to
adulthood, against four major causes of meningococcal disease
(serogroups A, C, W135 and Y) [4],[5], a sudden, unpredictable and
often life-threatening illness[2],[2]. Together these four
serogroups cause the majority of meningococcal disease cases in the
United States (US), Africa, and the Middle East and are also
present in Europe, Asia and Latin America[6],[7].

"As the most vulnerable age group, infants should be directly
protected from this unpredictable and devastating disease," said
Andrin Oswald, Division Head of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics.
"These data are another step in the significant progress Novartis
is making toward our goal of protecting all age groups against
meningococcal disease."

In the US, Novartis intends to submit a supplemental Biologics
License Application (sBLA) based on these pivotal data to the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by year-end. If approved, Menveo
will be the only meningococcal quadrivalent conjugate vaccine that
could be administered to infants 2 months of age and older. This
label claim extension will be also submitted in Europe and in other
parts of the world. Menveo Clinical Trial Results and Design The
Phase III, randomized, open-label, multi-center, parallel-group
study is the first to evaluate and present results for a
meningococcal quadrivalent conjugate vaccine in infants. The study
involved 4,545 healthy infants in trial sites throughout the US and
Latin America. Only data from the US trial sites were presented at
IDSA. Infants were randomized 2:1 to receive routine infant
vaccinations (DTaP, IPV, HBV, Hib, pneumococcal) alone or together
with Menveo at 2, 4, 6 and 12 months of age. The primary objectives
of the study were to assess the safety and tolerability of four
doses of Menveo when given alone or co-administered with routine
infant vaccines and, in a subset, to assess the immune response to
the vaccine[1].

The percentage of infants who achieved a protective immune
response was 67 percent for serogroup A, 97 percent for serogroup
C, and 96 percent for serogroups W135 and Y when measured at 7
months of age, one month after the third dose. One month after the
fourth dose at 12 months of age, the percentages were 94 percent
for serogroup A, 98 percent for serogroup C, and 100 percent for
serogroups W135 and Y. The immune response was measured by the
percentage of participants achieving serum bactericidal antibody
titers >1:8, using human complement (hSBA). In addition,
responses to routine infant vaccine antigens, when co-administered
with Menveo, were generally similar, except for a slightly lower
immune response to pneumococcal serotype 6B after the infant
series[1].

When given alone, Menveo was well tolerated, with a
reactogenicity and safety profile similar to routine infant
vaccines. Co-administration of Menveo with routine infant
immunizations neither resulted in increased frequency nor severity
of systemic reactions or other safety events. The most common side
effects in both groups were sleepiness, irritability, persistent
crying, changed eating habits, rash, and gastrointestinal events.
Rates of fever >38° C were similar in both groups with the
majority of cases resolving within 24-48 hours. Incidence of
serious adverse events was not different between the groups. About
Meningococcal disease Meningococcal disease is a leading cause of
bacterial meningitis - an infection of the membrane around the
brain and spine - and sepsis - a bloodstream infection[3],[8].
Survivors of meningococcal disease may experience side effects,
called sequelae, such as brain damage, learning disabilities,
hearing loss and limb loss[2]. Five main serogroups of
meningococcal bacteria (A, B, C, W135 and Y) cause the majority of
all cases around the world[2]. Infants are at the greatest risk of
developing meningococcal disease and represent the greatest unmet
need in terms of prevention[2],[4]. According to the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, there are two incidence peaks of
meningococcal disease, with the highest rates in the first year of
life (peak incidence at 4 to 5 months of age) and the other in
adolescence[4]. Up to 10 percent of children younger than 12 months
of age, who contract meningococcal disease, die[9]. Globally, there
are more than 500,000 cases of meningococcal disease each year,
leading to more than 50,000 deaths[3]. About Menveo Menveo is
indicated for active immunization to prevent invasive meningococcal
disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, W135 and
Y in individuals 11-55 years of age in the US, Chile, Argentina,
and individuals 11 years of age and older in the European Union,
Peru, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, and Pakistan. Menveo
does not prevent N. meningitidis serogroup B infections[10].

Menveo is also being evaluated for safety and immunogenicity
using various schedules in 24 completed and ongoing studies, 16 of
which are in infant and toddlers, and eight in adolescents and
adults. Menveo has been administered to more than 18,500 clinical
subjects across all age groups worldwide.

Novartis plans to submit additional data to the European
Medicines Agency to support the use of Menveo in infants 2 months
through 2 years of age, as well as in children 2 to 10 years of
age. An sBLA for the use of Menveo in children 2 to 10 years of age
is currently under review by the FDA. About Novartis Vaccines'
global meningococcal franchise Novartis Vaccines is a global leader
in providing vaccines to help protect against potentially deadly
meningococcal disease. Through industry-leading scientific
expertise, the Company is focused on extending critical
meningococcal vaccines research. In addition to developing Menveo
vaccine, Novartis Vaccines is developing the investigational
Multicomponent Meningococcal Serogroup B Vaccine (4CMenB), which
has the potential to provide protection against a range of
serogroup B strains. Menveo vaccine is based on the same
proprietary technology Novartis Vaccines pioneered to produce
Menjugate®, a meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine
approved in many countries outside the US since 2000. The Company
has already distributed more than 45 million doses of Menjugate
around the world and produced MenZB®, a vaccine against a
strain of meningococcus B specific to an outbreak in New Zealand.
Important Safety Information Menveo should not be administered to
individuals with known hypersensitivity to any component of Menveo
or other meningococcal vaccines, or other vaccines containing
derivatives of Corynebacterium diphtheriae. Because of the risk of
hematoma, Menveo should not be administered to individuals with any
bleeding disorder, such as hemophilia or thrombocytopenia, nor to
persons receiving anticoagulant therapy, unless the potential
benefit outweighs the risk of administration. Menveo should not be
administered to people who have an acute severe febrile illness,
although a mild fever of short duration is not a contraindication.
Due to the absence of supporting data, the decision to administer
Menveo to pregnant women should be evaluated according to the risk
of meningococcal infection.

The most common local adverse reactions to Menveo include
injection site pain, erythema, and induration. The most common
systemic adverse reactions include headache, myalgia, malaise,
nausea, arthralgia, chills, rash and fever. Some reactions may be
severe.

Vaccination with Menveo may not protect all individuals.
Patients who are immunocompromised or receiving immunosuppressive
therapy may have an inadequate response to vaccination.

Before administering Menveo, please see full Prescribing
Information.

Disclaimer The foregoing release contains forward-looking
statements that can be identified by terminology such as
"potential," "potentially," "can," "should," "intends," "will,"
"could," "plans," or similar expressions, or by express or implied
discussions regarding potential new indications or labeling for
Menveo, potential future approvals of the 4CMenB vaccine, or
regarding potential future revenues from such vaccines. You should
not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking
statements reflect the current views of management regarding future
events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors that may cause actual results to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee
that Menveo will be approved for any additional indications or
labeling in any market. Nor can there be any guarantee that 4CMenB
will be submitted or approved for sale in any market. Neither can
there be any guarantee that these vaccines will achieve any
particular levels of revenue in the future. In particular,
management's expectations regarding these vaccines could be
affected by, among other things, unexpected clinical trial results,
including unexpected new clinical data and unexpected additional
analysis of existing clinical data; unexpected regulatory actions
or delays or government regulation generally; competition in
general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures;
the company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other
proprietary intellectual property protection; the impact that the
foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the
Novartis Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's
consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to
in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities
and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing
the information in this press release as of this date and does not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements
contained in this press release as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. About Novartis Novartis provides
healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients
and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a
diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative
medicines, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, preventive
vaccines, diagnostic tools and consumer health products. Novartis
is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2009,
the Group's continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 44.3
billion, while approximately USD 7.5 billion was invested in
R&D activities throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel,
Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 100.000
full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140
countries around the world. For more information, please visit
http://www.novartis.com<http://www.novartis.com/>.